“This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” — William Shakespeare, Hamlet

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  The crack of skin meeting skin echoed sharply in the vast audience chamber of the Imperial Palace.

  Yulia flinched, having to fight her instincts to not go to Luca’s side to check on him. It’ll only make things worse for him with King Edric if she goes to his aid openly.

  She wasn’t stupid. She’s seen the way that King Edric had been trying to push her into Rem’s direction, acting like Rem is the Crown Prince, and not Luca, when Yulia’s duty as the heiress of House Nightray is to be the guardian of the heir of the throne. And with the way King Edric had treated Luca for as long as she’d known him, Yulia knew that it was only a matter of time before Luca was stripped from his position as Crown Prince. Probably even stricken from the royal line entirely.

  Luca stood his ground. He didn’t so much as flinch, though an already darkening bruise was starting to bloom on his pale skin, along with a cut that is already seeping with blood.

  “Idiot!” King Edric’s voice boomed across the audience chamber, his voice tinged with fury. “Leaving the palace unescorted? Ditching your Crownsguard? Skipping your studies? Do you even understand what could have happened to you?!”

  Beside the dais, Jonah Mitchell, Luca’s assigned Crownsguard, looked exhausted, though he had a touch of amusement visible in his eyes. Dressed in the usual Crownsguard uniform of black and gold, he cut an imposing figure: muscular, with short dark hair and sharp eyes, his sword hanging at his side.

  Luca glared. “I’ll bet you didn’t even notice I was gone,” he muttered coldly. Though his voice was soft, it rang clearly in the tense silence of the audience chamber. “Not until Rem blew the whistle, at least.”

  Standing just a few steps behind the king, Rem flinched when Luca gave his pale-faced twin a glare.

  A growl from King Edric brought everyone’s attention back to the furious king. “Do I need to break your legs before you’ll stay put in the palace instead of running around the entire kingdom?” Every person in the audience chamber stiffened. Even Hamilton, who was standing next to his daughter, subtly shifted, his hand brushing the hilt of his sword. From the tone of Edric’s voice, Hamilton knew that the king wasn’t joking. “The market district! The common areas! I won’t be surprised if you’d somehow ended up ‘exploring’ the slums in District 13 without me knowing! And now this, running off to Evershade again?!” Edric barked.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Thankfully, before things could escalate, Hamilton stepped forward, calm and composed in the face of the king’s fury. “If I may, Your Majesty,” he began, his voice calm and steady. “Prince Lucien responded remarkably well to the lessons with Gareth at Nightray Manor. Gareth even reports that he showed more engagement in a single session than he ever did with the tutors at the Imperial Palace.” Yulia stood stiffly beside her father, her hands clenched into fists within her pockets. “Perhaps it would be beneficial to pair Prince Lucien’s lessons with my daughter’s. Since she will one day serve as his guardian, it would help to strengthen their bond. Prince Rem may benefit as well, should he wish to observe or join.”

  Luca still looked sullen, but there was a faint sparkle of hope in his eyes.

  Edric scowled. “Hamilton, you’re overstepping—” He began, only to be interrupted by Lord Esmund Veranthal, the royal advisor, a middle-aged man with greying hair and the posture of someone who’d survived too many royal tempers.

  “With respect, Your Majesty,” Esmund said, bowing. “Lord Hamilton has a point. The palace tutors may be skilled in etiquette, but none can match Gareth Vyrell in combat or discipline. Your late father, the former king, once said he would trust Gareth with his life.”

  The king’s jaw clenched. Yulia could see the anger behind his eyes, simmering. Then the queen, who had until then remained silent, spoke up. “Your Majesty, Lord Hamilton and Lord Esmund both have a point,” Queen Lysandra said, her voice as serene as always. “Besides, if Lucien starts sitting in on lessons with Heiress Nightray, I can stop worrying about him sneaking to Evershade all the time.” She smiled gently at her older son. “It would put my mind at ease, too, if I knew where he is. And maybe, he can finally stop ditching his Crownsguard.”

  The king hesitated, his eyes flickering between the queen, Lord Esmund, and even Hamilton before he sighed, looking resigned.

  “Fine,” Edric said at last, waving a hand dismissively. “Maybe now I’ll stop hearing the tutors complain about Lucien skipping his lessons. Whatever gets him out of my hair.”

  Yulia’s jaw clenched with anger, but she said nothing, also fighting to keep the expression on her face neutral.

  “Lucien,” King Edric snapped without looking at his son. “You’re confined to your chambers for the night. No dinner. Reflect on your stupidity. Dismissed.”

  Luca didn’t move for several moments. Then, with a small bow to Hamilton and the queen, he turned on his heel and walked out of the audience chamber without a word, with Jonah following in his wake.

  Yulia watched his retreating figure, a storm of emotions within her chest, as she turned to give Rem a look. The younger prince flinched at the look in Yulia’s eyes. She didn’t look all that different, but Rem knew her well enough by now to know that Yulia was mad at him.

  And he knows the reason why.

  “If I may be excused, Your Majesties?” Yulia said almost stiffly. “And may I at least check in on Prince Lucien before I leave for Evershade?”

  Queen Lysandra answered before King Edric could. “Yes, of course,” she said kindly with a small smile. “Maybe you can get that stubborn son of mine to listen. I’ll speak with Lord Hamilton about arranging a proper tutoring schedule.”

  Yulia bowed stiffly to the queen, not even looking at the king, before she then turned and left the audience chamber without a second look back, a surge of emotions still swelling up in her chest.

  Luca is the king’s son. The Crown Prince of the kingdom. But yet, in the two years since Yulia had known Luca, she had never so much as seen the king praise Luca, or have a kind word for him the way he did with Rem.

  To King Edric, Luca wasn’t his son. He had never been anything more than a mistake.